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Ashbringer
Ashbringer, Blade of the Scarlet Highlord, is the sword of former Highlord Mograine of the Scarlet Crusade. The blade was named after Mograine and his uncanny ability to smite the undead to nothing but a flurry of ash. Mograine was betrayed and murdered by his son, Renault, with the sword. Recently it has been discovered that Mograine was reincarnated as a Death Knight by the lich Kel'Thuzad, and he still possesses Ashbringer, although it has been defiled by his murder and transformed into . Ashbringer is one of the most hyped and lore-rich items thus far in the World of Warcraft, but is not yet obtainable by players. The known item statistics are certain to change when it is eventually introduced. History Origin of Ashbringer During the Battle of Blackrock Spire in the Second War, Highlord (then Commander) Mograine of the Silver Hand claimed a mysterious dark crystal from a dead orc lieutenant. The crystal was supposedly the "living embodiment of shadow," and originated from Draenor. When the first whispers of the Scourge reached Lordaeron, Commander Mograine revealed the crystal to his most trusted associates of the Silver Hand, and suggested that they search for the crystal's polar opposite - a manifestation of The Light itself - to be used against the impending undead holocaust. Mograine's peers, appalled the sight of the crystal, attempted to destroy it with a holy spell. Unexpectedly, the crystal absorbed the spell and became its own antithesis - the very crystal of pure light that Mograine suggested. It was decided that from this crystal a weapon would be forged that would smite the undead with such power that only a cloud of ash would remain in its wake-- The Ashbringer. Fall of the Ashbringer ]] After the Silver Hand was dissolved following Arthas' betrayal, the remaining leaders formed the Scarlet Crusade. Mograine was appointed to the head position of Highlord, and Ashbringer became the most lethal weapon in the Crusade's arsenal - so much so that it quickly garnered the attention of Kel'Thuzad. Balnazzar, in the newly possessed body of Grand Crusader Saiden Dathrohan, sought to use the Crusade as a machine against the Scourge and rectify the Burning Legion's past failure to defeat the Lich King. Mograine, however, potentially jeopardized his plans. Balnazzar made a pact with Kel'Thuzad to eliminate the Highlord: the bane of the Scourge would be destroyed, and Balnazzar's reign would continue unchecked. He corrupted Mograine's son, Renault, and made plans to set a trap for the Highlord. Renault led his father and High Inquisitor Fairbanks to Stratholme, where the legions of the Scourge awaited them. Renault fled and hid while Mograine and Fairbanks fended for themselves. Fairbanks eventually became trapped alive under a pile of corpses. Mograine alone continued to smite thousands of the undead with ease, but was eventually wearied and dropped his blade in fatigue. Renault came out of hiding to exploit his father's vulnerable state. He took up Ashbringer and slew his father, which simultaneously corrupted the blade by using it for such a treacherous act. Unable to wield the corrupted sword, he left it with his father's body, and reported to the Crusade that it had been lost. Renault's betrayal was witnessed only by the unseen Fairbanks, who could only listen in horror as Renault murdered his father. Fairbanks remained there until he regained enough strength to leave the besieged city. He fled to the Scarlet Monastery where he told of Renault's actions to anyone who would listen. Those who believed broke away from the Crusade and formed the Argent Dawn. However, many refused to believe him and killed him for speaking such blasphemy and exposure to the Plague. His body was discarded in a secret chamber in the Scarlet Cathedral. Meanwhile, Kel'Thuzad resurrected Mograine as one of his Death Knights and reclaimed his corrupted blade. Since then Mograine has resided in Naxxramas, driven mad by his corruption. Taelan Fordring has succeeded him as Highlord. Renault has risen in rank to Commander of the Scarlet Monastery, and Balnazzar gained authority over the Scarlet Crusade and began to corrupt it further into the zealous faction it is today. Followers of the Crusade believe that the "chosen one" who finds Ashbringer will be the harbinger of the Crusade's triumph. In World of Warcraft Ashbringer has been subject to intense speculation since the release of World of Warcraft, but is not currently known to be acquirable. Rumors have been fueled by data-mined graphics and item statistics, as well as NPC's alluding to its existence. Alexia Ironknife, Bardu Sharpeye, Caretaker Alen, Narain Soothfancy, Commander Eligor Dawnbringer, Shen'dralar Zealots and all make references to Ashbringer. Information from these NPC's implies Nat Pagle and Prince Tortheldrin know the location of Ashbringer, and are even willing to tell the player; however, they have never shared their knowledge. The rumors regarding an acquirable Ashbringer persisted until Eyonix confessed that it is not in-game: The caster legendary being referred to is , which was added in Patch 1.12. The item statistics of Ashbringer found in the game files will be updated before the sword is made available to players. Corrupted Ashbringer Players encounter the resurrected Highlord Mograine in Naxxramas as a Death Knight of the Four Horsemen. He wields , which may be looted from the Horsemens' cache. Upon wielding the blade, the player becomes friendly with the Scarlet Crusade (although it does not appear in the reputations window) and hated with the Argent Dawn. A scripted event can be triggered upon entering the Cathedral in the Scarlet Monastery. Scarlet Commander Mograine welcomes the player as the crusaders bow before him or her. Unexpectedly, Highlord Mograine's spirit appears in full Dreadnaught, revives Fairbanks and smites and kills his son (Renault, the Scarlet Commander) for murdering him. Fairbanks proceeds to tell the story of Renault's betrayal and that the Corrupted Ashbringer is beyond redeeming. Luckily, Mograine has another son who resides in Outland and has the ability to forge a new Ashbringer. Fairbanks does not give any quests. In Wrath of the Lich King wielding Ashbringer]] During the lore and quests panel at BlizzCon 2007, Chris Metzen and Alex Afrasiabi discussed a questline in Northrend focusing on Tirion Fordring, and mentioned plans to include Ashbringer. On the Blizzcon demonstration realm, players encountered the dying Ares the Oathbound of the Order of the Silver Hand within the Utgarde Catacombs, possibly one of the wings of Utgarde Keep. Ares gave a quest, "The Shining Light", which required players to retrieve a "sacred artifact" from another location in the dungeon. Once retrieved, he asked the player to return it to Lord Irulon Trueblade in Valgarde. Trueblade told the player that the weapon will be used by Tirion Fordring - the new Highlord of the Silver Hand - in the Silver Hand's campaign against the Scourge, perhaps even using it against the Lich King himself. A nearby cleric then unmasked himself as Fordring and equipped the artifact, which was revealed to be Ashbringer. Many believe that due to the reappearance of the Ashbringer, the two blades, the Ashbringer and Frostmourne, will soon contend with one another - to put it in poetic terms. In layman's terms, it means that many believe that soon the Ashbringer and Frostmourne will meet one another - Frostmourne in the hands of the Lich King, The Ashbringer in the hands of either Tirion or the player. Rumors and speculation Identity of Mograine's second son Thus far, Mograine's other son has not been found, and even his precise identity remains unknown. Fairbanks' comments imply that he was a member of the Alliance Expedition during the Second War. It is likely he knows nothing of the Ashbringer, or his role to play in reforging it, considering his father did not create it until the Third War, and there was no communication between Azeroth and Outland since the Dark Portal was closed at the end of the Second War. Fan speculation has pointed to at least three possible candidates for Mograine's lost son: *Khadgar: Beyond his apprenticeship to Medivh and his involvement in the invasion of Draenor, his background is unknown. *Turalyon: Also with little known history, other than the fact that he was Anduin Lothar's lieutenant and later the Expedition's High General. His only known possible connection to Ashbringer is the fact that he is a paladin. His current whereabouts are unknown, although he is scheduled to appear in World of Warcraft eventually. *David Wayne: He is the most popular candidate for Mograine's son, due to the fact that he is a weaponsmith and makes reference to leaving the Alliance Expedition because he believes he is meant to be part of "something larger." He also has red hair like the other two Mograines. It is also possible that he is not an important character at all, and just another common soldier in the Alliance Expedition. The crystal The crystal from which the original Ashbringer was created is likely related to the naaru, and may in fact be a naaru. The naaru life cycle is one of reincarnation. Upon death, naaru are transformed into "corpses" of dark voids -- the opposite of a living naaru. They will persist in this state until they either slowly regenerate their powers from The Light over many years, or are subjected to a powerful holy spell, after which they will be resurrected into their living form again. The crystal shown by Highlord Mograine in Old Hillsbrad demonstrates similar properties: a holy spell was cast on the dark crystal and it became a crystal of light. Furthermore, the crystal was described as a living embodiment, suggesting that it was alive, or was a fragment of a living thing -- possibly a deceased naaru. Mograine also states that the crystal is from Draenor. The naaru had not yet arrived on Draenor via Tempest Keep before the Second War, leaving only a few naaru as the possible source of the crystal -- K'ure, who resides in Oshu'gun, or the deceased naaru D'ore, who was killed in Oshu'gun's crash upon Draenor centuries before, currently interred in Auchindoun. In the quest , D'ore himself tells the player, "Without the void, the Light cannot exist." which are suspiciously similar to the words used by Mograine: ''"Can good exist without evil? Can there be light without dark?"''http://www.blizzplanet.com/content/629 Another similar theory is that the crystal is one of the Ata'mal crystals, each of which grant the wielder a variety of powers. It should be noted, however, that all of the Ata'mal crystals are known to be spherical unlike the Ashbringer crystal. However the change could be related to the corruption of the crystal by whatever dark magics turned it to the darkness - and also, who can tell the complete storyline of the crystals? Perhaps some higher power augmented the crystal as it/they knew it would later become essential to the fate of Azeroth. Old questline Ashbringer may have been originally intended to be in the game much earlier. Parts of the quest line can be pieced together. Nat Pagle learned of the location of Ashbringer and wrote about it in his book, , of which players only have the last page. The full copy of the book, , can be found in Dire Maul from opening dusty tomes; however, it is not readable. Prince Tortheldrin, being a historian and bibliophile, likely read Pagle's book, learned of the Ashbringer's location, and discarded the book in Dire Maul where the player finds it. The Prince would offer his knowledge to any player who would bring him the Head of Nefarian. Ashbringer was likely to be the legendary item associated with Blackwing Lair but was changed to , which requires from Blackwing Lair. This is supported by the fact that Ashbringer's original item ID was changed to host Thunderfury. Additionally, at one time, could be looted from Large Vile Slimes in The Weeping Cavern of Western Plaguelands. Lengthy discussion on the official forums has led to the premature and popular conclusion that Timolain is the name of the mage referred to by Bardu Sharpeye and Alexia Ironknife, and therefore is the crafter of the Ashbringer. The implementation of Ashbringer was likely delayed so that the story could be fleshed out with the addition of Naxxramas. Trivia An "Ashbringer" meme has developed on the official forums. Posts that raise questions about Ashbringer, particularly where one may obtain it, often solicit a response of "the Ashbringer..." in reference to the Old Hillsbrad event. See also * * Ashbringer Quotes * Highlord Mograine * Renault Mograine * Old Hillsbrad: The Origin of Ashbringer * Scarlet Monastery: Retribution of the Ashbringer References External links Category:Legendary Items Category:Swords